The deathly doom metal of Swallow the Sun used to be offset with moments of cold beauty and increasingly pop oriented vocal lines, that still managed to feel like a fresh breath visible in the chill air. This has been turned on its head on Shining, a move that in hindsight was well telegraphed over the last two albums the band put out.
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This Week In Metal, 2024 Week 37
Another week, another round of metal reviews in the bag. Words are tough, so we assembled the highlights. And if you want to read the latest reviews for the new offerings from Leprous, Pneuma Hagion, and Moose Cult, you can do that too!
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Leprous – Melodies of Atonement Review
For the better part of a decade, Leprous have become something of a parody of themselves. Increasingly pop-leaning and focusing on Einar Solberg’s voice, the band started to leave behind their once progressive writing somewhere between 2015’s The Congregation and 2017’s Malina. But when Melodies of Atonement arrives with an album cover and preview tracks that carry shades of their early work… well the road to atonement is loOOoooOOoooOooong.
Read moreThe Week In Metal, 2023 Week 42
Another week, another round of metal reviews in the bag. Words are tough, so we assembled the highlights. And if you want to read the latest reviews for the new offerings from Cirith Ungol, Myrkur, Reverend Michael Kristin Hayter, Sühnopfer, Tardigrade Inferno, and Dreamwell, you can do that too!
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Myrkur – Spine Review
The elitist uproar about Myrkur’s debut was intense and a bit ridiculous, as even if the album is bad or not, it did manage to do enough to be called Metal. As in answer to this, Myrkur decided to prove all the naysayers right by transitioning into Folk songs on her subsequent albums. As Spine arrives, we should focus on what is important here: is Spine any good? Or is it spineless?
Read moreThis Week in Metal, 2023 Week 40
Another week, another round of metal reviews in the bag. Words are tough, so we assembled the highlights. And if you want to read the latest reviews for the new offerings from Disfiguring The Goddess, Seraphic Entombment, Shining, Steven Wilson, and Arborescence of Wrath, you can do that too!
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Steven Wilson – The Harmony Codex Review
What makes much of this material stick is that Steven Wilson is meticulous at sound production and getting a live feel out of the instruments. Mixing this with the Electronic focus of many of these songs makes for some music that operates, production-wise, on a level that is unusual today. Sometimes the future doesn’t bite.
Read moreThis Week in Metal, 2023 Week 35
Another week, another round of metal reviews in the bag. Words are tough, so we assembled the highlights. And if you want to read the latest reviews for the new offerings from Nuclear Power Trio, Grand Cadaver, Massen, Soen, Blut aus Nord, and Exmortus, you can do that too!
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Soen – Memorial Review
Soen’s inspirations always seemed clear to our Metalligator. Tool laid the base for their debut and Opeth’s best ex-drummer, Martin Lopez, has been a member from the start. 2019’s Lotus, however, revealed itself as a watershed moment, Soen sounding more confident than ever… To kill a mocking croc…
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Crypts of the Unknown: 2024 Vol. 1
